got the fright of my life today

[marchmaxima]

Cap'n, that Whiskey went down very well. I've been around although a bit quieter in the last few months. Work kept me busy with a big IT project and Uni on top of that. Just finished my last exam so now looking forward to finding where I stashed my personal life, rejoining society and enjoying the summer.

mfdrookie, it's not the same cylinder. I've got a "swap n go" arrangement so each time I take back an empty one, they swap it for a new full one. The empty cylinders then get sent back to their suppliers for testing and refilling. The Beer Brew Barn is just the distributor.

The cylinder itself came from a company called "Keg King". They are responsiblefor the testing, maintenance and certification. I'll definitely be calling them today.

Matt, this is my third cylinder. My first two got emptied within in 4-5 days becuase I couldn't find where a leak was occuring. As it happens, I think I might have found the problem on this third guy. I hooked it up last night and after 30mins of soaping and observing, I can't find a leak. I weighed the bottle yesterday 9.9kg. When I weighed it this morning it was 10.3kg. So for the first time since I bought all this equipment, I appear not to be leaking gas.

The guy from The Beer Brew Barn where I get my cylinders from, said it was really bizzare. He drives around CO2 cylinders every day when delivering and picking up keg systems for hire. Our safety laws for such items like this are about as tough as they come. But I guess its always a possibility one can get through either untested or pass testing when it shouldn't. I think what happened to me is an extremely rare case.

Blueiz, I was definitely dizzy and nauseous but I dont think it was due to the gas itself. I got out of the car too quickly. The Whiskey helped the shock

[marchmaxima]

Response from Keg King for anyone whose interested

----
The part on the cylinder that you heard explode was the burst disk. The burst dist is a thin piece of metal that will burst if the pressure in the cylinder gets too high. The burst disk is essentially a safety mechanism to prevent a more fatal explosion and in this particular instance the burst dist has done exactly what it is supposed to do, burst.

If the burst disk blows like it did in your car, it is most likely due to the fact that the cylinder is getting too hot so the burst disk on the cylinder blows to prevent the pressure in the cylinder getting any higher. When the burst disk blows the pressure in the cylinder is released in a controlled manner over about 30 seconds.

It is important to remember that CO2 is also classed as a “Dangerous Good – Grade 2” and should at any time be transported in the cabin space of a car. The force of the bursk disk blowing is not harmful itself, but the build up of CO2 in the confined environment of the cabin space of a car is dangerous. For this reason when transporting CO2 you should always transport the CO2 in the boot of your vehicle to minimize risk or on the outside of the car if you have a ute. This is also the reason that in says on the label “do not leave in closed vehicle”.

I am sorry for the experience you have had. It sounds like you got quite a fright when the burst disk exploded. In this instance it is lucky that it did because it may have prevented a more fatal explosion if the cylinder got any hotter.

If you would like to know any more information about cylinders or proper safety management please refer to our website www.kegking.com.au and read the Material Safety Data Sheet.

Regards,


Kee Döéry
Proprietor
Keg King – Keg Dispense Specialists

[austinsdad]

After hearing their explanation and what could've happened, I'd have another wiskey....or two.

So happy you're OK. Not your turn yet.

[FishEggs]

how hot was it there?

[marchmaxima]

Not hot at all.

I had the air con turned up all the way home. maybe 23-24 (75 F) degrees in the car. Well within the 50 degree c (122F) limit as per their material data safety sheet.

They also said it was possible it was overfilled which would also burst the disk, but they also said it should have burst well before I got it.